The invention is directed to a novel free standing extension table utilized in conjunction with a conventional table, such as a dining room or kitchen table, to increase the seating capacity as is desirable at times, most notable during holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas or the like.
Typical dining room tables might conveniently seat eight to twelve persons and perhaps more, but on occasion the diners outnumber the seating capacity. It is not uncommon under such circumstances to set-up a card table and place it end-to-end with the dining room table. Rarely if ever is the card table of the same width or height as the dining room table, and most often the perimeter contour of the card table and the dining room table differ considerably from each other. Most often than not, the table tops are therefore not aligned and gaps exist at adjacent corners of the contiguous tables. These corners define gaps or voids which when covered by a tablecloth are not apparent, and should a person place an object thereover, the object might well fall to the floor since it is unsupported from beneath. Card tables can be unstable and at times individuals have attempted to level the top of the card table with the top of a dining room table by placing books or similar objects under the legs of the card table. Needless to say, disaster has ofttimes occurred through inadvertent/accidental dislodgement of the leg-supporting objects of the card table. This approach is of questionable merit, as are other "homemade" solutions, such as constructing knock-down tables from relatively rough lumber forming a table top and pipes forming legs which are threaded into pipe fittings secured to the underside of the wooden table top.
Some more sophisticated approaches to solving the problem of seating capacity involves the utilization of table leafs or drop leafs. However, the use of leafs and drop leafs will eventually extend the seating table to a maximum, but not beyond. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a table extension beyond the norm achieved heretofore in any known conventional manner.
A search of the subject matter of the present invention uncovered a number of patents dealing with table extensions, such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,297,647 in the name of Daniel H. Chason which issued on Sep. 29, 1942. In this patent a conventional table includes a table top of a general polygonal configuration supported by four dependent legs with one leg being located at each corner. The table extension includes a planar table top and two legs remote from an opposite edge which is connected by a special and complicated bracket to the first-mentioned table. The extension table is not per se self supporting, but does achieve a uniformity of table top height.
Another furniture extension mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,794 in the name of Ole Wiberg granted on Dec. 20, 1994. In this case an upper supporting surface is hinged to a main table or the like, and opposite the hinge includes a pair of folding legs.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,750 issued to Mike M. Fuchs on Aug. 30, 1994 an extendable table is provided in the form of a self-supporting table leaf having a pair of oppositely opening curved recesses which accommodate portions of circular table tops. The table tops and leaf or table extension utilize removable legs which facilitate the individual self support of the table tops or the collective support of the circular table tops and the associated extension.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,437,390 issued to Royce F. Evans on Apr. 8, 1969 discloses a generally main pedestal table having an octagonal table top to which can be secured in edge-to-edge contact a number of dolleys which extend all table surfaces in a common plane and permit the units to be moved in unison.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,705,179 in the name of Charles L. Hodgin issued on Mar. 29, 1995 discloses a pair of relatively detachable tables in which a main table has four pivotal legs and an auxiliary table has two pivoted legs and is itself pivoted to the main table in order that the auxiliary table can be oriented in different positions relative to the main table. Such extension tables can be added to each other to extend the main table ad infinitum. The complexity of the structures are apparent from the drawings and the description relative thereto.